Kashmir politician from ruling Hindu party killed

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - Suspected militants in south Kashmir on Saturday night shot dead a Kashmiri politician associated with the ruling Indian Hindu nationalist party.

“Gul Mohammad Mir, a resident of Verinag, sustained critical gunshot injuries in the terrorist incident and was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment where he succumbed to his wounds,” the region’s police said in a statement today.

Mir was district vice head of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Anantnag, and his killing comes at a time when Anantnag voters -- in four phases -- are casting ballots in the ongoing Indian parliamentary elections. On Monday, Anantnag’s Shopian and Pulwama districts will go to the polls.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP condemned the killing. “There is no place for such violence in our country. Condolences to his family and well-wishers,” Modi tweeted.

Mir’s killing also follows the killing of three Kashmiri militants including a top commander, Lateef Tiger, by Indian forces on Friday.

Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.